holzer



July 23, 1929. f H, A, HQLZER Re. 17,380

LONG WALL CONVEYER Original Fili-ld Aug. 4, 1924 Y 2 Sheets sheet 1 l N VEN TOR /L//mm f/o/Zc/f ATTORNEY H. A. HOI-2ER LONG WALL CNVEYER July 23,1929.

Original Filed Aug. 4, 1924 lll U Hmm lli ma:

- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INI/EN TOR ATTORNEY v Reissued July 23, 1929.

` UNITED STATES* PATENT OFFICE. t

HIRAM A.. HOLZER, OF PITTSBURG, "KAN SAS, ASSIGNOR TO. UNITED IRON WORKS, INC.,

OF :KANSASr CITY, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURlI.

LONG-WALL GONVEYER.

rOriginal No. 1,571,009, dated January' 26,1926, serial no. 729,959, rued- Augusf; 4, 1924. applicativa` for reissue led December'l,

f eral veins.

Another object is` to `provide a long",wall

e conveyer that `is particularly adapted for use inshallow vein coal mines, due tothe fact that it is'of such construction that it willconvey friable or brittle coal a considerable distance with less liability of breakage than the conventional long wall conveyer.

Another object is to provide a long wall conveyer having the desirable characteristics above described, which-is of such construction that the'length of the conveyer canbe easily changed. 1 Figure 1 of the drawingsisr a sectional viewillustrating my improved conveyer arranged in operative position in a mine.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the delivery end portion of said conveyer. Figure 3 is a side elevational view `of the receiving end portion of the conveyer.

Figure 4 is atop plan view ,of the conveyer, partly ybroken away, so to illustrate the construction of the same; and i y i Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view, vtakenon the line5--5 ofvFigure 4. f i

yI have herein illustrated my invention embodied in a long wall conveyer that is par`- ticularlyadapted for use in shallow vein. coal mines for conveying coal from the'point where it has been undercut and shot loose' to the cars in the main entrance of the mine in which the coal is transportedout vof the mine. In Figure l'of the'd'rawings l designates a tunnel or passageway of` relatively slight depth formed in a shallow or thin vein of coal. A designates as an entirety my improved conveyer which isgarranged in said tunnel and B designates a minev car in the main entrance ofthe mine into which the 1926; Serial N0. 158,352.

the coal is being mined orl removed from the f earth. One ofthe distinguishing characteristics of my improved conveyer isy that it is shallow, enough to be used successfully in a relatively thin vein of coal. Another disi,

tinguishing characteristic is that it comprises a ,plurality` of endless chains of relatively small pitch, say,v for example, a five inch pitch on which the ycoal is carried to the point of discharge, thus reducing breakageof the coal to a minimum. And still another novel characteristic of the conveyer is that the housing in which` vthe chains travel is built up4 of a number of sections detachably ccnnjected together, thereby enabling the length of the conveyer to `be easily increasedor decreased. i

lfnv `the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, 2 designates a plurality of endless chains, preferably chains having a relativelysmall pitch, 3 designates a `drive shaft at the discharge end of the conreceiving end of same and provided with y idler sprockets 6 around which the conveyer chains travel, and C designates as an entirety ahousing for the chains constructed in the form of two superimposed troughs 7 and 8 throughwhich the top and bottom portions of the chains travel. Any suitable means can be used for operating the drive shaft 3, such, for example, yas an electric motor D operatively connected with said drive shaft by a driving mechanism Vdesignated as an entirety inFigure 4 by the'v reference character 3a.k In order to produce` a conveyer that can be operated etliciently with` a minimum expenditure of power, and whose dimensions are small enough to permit it to be used successfully in a shallow vein of coal, I use drive sprockets 4 and idler sprockets 6 of relatively said sprockets, the top and bottom port-ions of the chains being brought together adjacent the ends of the troughs 7 and 8 in said housing by means of guide sprockets 9 arranged behind the drive shaft 3 on the underside of the conveyer and guide sprockets 10 arranged in front of the idler sprockets 6 at the upper side of the conveyer. In most instances the chain housing C will comprise a shallow bottom trough 8 provided with a solid bottom wall over which theA return flights of the chain drag and a top trough 7 provided with a` flat, solid bottom wall 7a and inclined or fla-red side walls 7 b, as shown in Figure 5, the bottom and side walls of said troughs being formed from sheet metal. The chain housing C as an entirety is constructed in sections so as to enable the length of the conveyer to be changed easily by increasing or decreasing the number of sect-ions of the chain housing and increasing or decreasing the length of the conveyer chains 2 and while the particular details of construction of the chain housing are immaterial each section of the housing is preferably made up of a framework thatcarries shallow pans which act as troughsfor the chains, and said sections will be arranged end to end and coni nected together by bolts or other suitable fastening devices arranged in laterally-projecting flanges 11 at the ends of said sections, as shown in Figure 5.

The drive sprockets 4 and the guide sprockl ets 9 arranged adjacent same are carried-,by

a supporting structure, designated as an entirety by the reference character 12, which is attached to one end of the chain housing, and the idler sprockets 6 and guide sprockets 10 arranged adjacent same are carried by a supportingstructure, designated as an. entirety by the reference character 13 in Figure 3, that is attached to the inner end of the vchain housing. Preferably, the supporting structure lis provided with guideways 13*JL that receive vadjustable blocks 14 which carry the shaft 'that supports the idler sprockets 6, said blocksfbeing adapted to be adjusted longitudinally of the, guideways '132L by manipulating adjusting screws 15 so Vas to take up the slack in the conveyer chains.

In operating the conveyer the coal or other mineral, as it is removed from the earth, is deposited on the top portions of the conveyer Vchains at a point in front of the guide sprockets 10 and is carried by the chains 2 longitudinally of the top trough 7 and discharged into the mine car B located adjacent the dischains through the top trough of the chain housing, instead of, being dragged by said "chains over the bottom of said trough, coal s' uthat is friable or brittle can be transported a conslderable distance with minimum breakage. The main advantage of the conveyer,

. arranged at the opposite ends of said troughs.

The above described features coupled with the fact that the length of the chain housing can be easily varied, makes my improved' conveyer particularly adapted for use in low coal where it is impossible to work the coal with the room and pillar system.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: y

1. Along wall conveyer for mines, comprising a chain housing made up of a number of sections detachably connected together and each comprising two superimposed, shallow, troughs provided with solid bottoms, a plurality of. endless conveyer chains of relatively small pitch arranged to support and y convey the material through the top trough '-311 of the housing and to return through the bottom trough of the housing, driving sprockets and idler sprockets atthe ends of said housing around which said chains travel, the diameter of said sprockets being greater. than the 11.

depth of said chain housing, and guide sprockets arranged adjacent said driving sprockets and idler sprocketsand disposed so as to hold the top and bottom portions of the chains in substantially parallel relationship at the opposite ends of the chain housing. 2. Along wall conveyer for mines, comprising a chain housing made up of a number of sections, each .of which comprises two superi imposed,v shallow .metal troughs, laterallyprojecting flanges at the ends of said sections, fastening devicespassing through said flanges yfor detachably connecting them together, a plurality of endless conveyer chains of relatively small pitch arranged to support and lconvey the material through the top trough of the housing and return through the bott-om trough, drive sprockets at one end of said housing around which the chains travel, idler sprockets at the opposite end of the housing around which said chains travel, means for adjusting one of said groups of sprockets longitudinally of the housing to take up the slack in the chains, and guide sprockets disposed so as to hold the top and bottom portions of the chains in substantially parallel relationship at the ends of said housing.

3..In a long wal-l conveyer' for mines, a chain housing comprising two superimposed shallow troughs provided with solid bottoms, a conveyer including an endless chain of relatively small pitch arranged to support and convey material through the top trough and to'return through the bottom trough, sprockets including a driving sprocket at the delivery end and an idling sprocket at the receiving end of the housing on which said chain travels, the diameter of the driving sprocket being greater than the depth of said chain housing,l and a guide Sprocket arranged 'adjacent said driving sprocketat the under side of the conveyer to bring the bottom portion of the chain in substantially parallel re- 10 lationship with the top portion thereof at the end of the lower trough adjacent said driving sprocket.

In testimony whereof I affix myl signature.

HIRAM A. HoLznn.` 

